Fresh water is the world’s most important natural resource. Every living thing needs it, and nothing else can take its place.
Yet, in many areas of the world, fresh water is becoming increasingly hard to obtain. Climate change is contributing to unprecedented droughts and water shortages on continents all over the world.
It’s clear that eliminating water waste must be a priority for everyone in every aspect of life. Builders and property owners are no exception. In new construction or renovation, many of the decisions you make can significantly impact your building’s carbon footprint and water consumption.
One of those decisions is the type of toilet you install. If you want water savings, you should give pressure-assisted toilets a closer look.
The Worst Drought Conditions in Generations
The world has always faced droughts. Yet we’ve never seen them this widespread, or this severe.
- Worldwide, more than 2.3 billion people face water stress and almost 160 million children are exposed to severe and prolonged droughts.
- Several European countries are experiencing their worst droughts in nearly a century, causing several major rivers to run dry.
- As of late September, nearly 43% of the U.S. was in drought, impacting more than 130 million people. Not a single state was unaffected by drought.
These droughts are not sudden, freak occurrences—they’re a continuation of trends over the last few years. Drought conditions are likely to persist well into the future. That’s why it’s so critical to implement water-saving technology whenever possible.
How Pressure-assisted Toilets Save Water
There’s one water-saving technology builders and property owners can install in virtually any apartment complex, hotel, restaurant, or other public venue—or even private homes. That technology is pressure-assisted toilets.
What is a pressure-assisted toilet?
Most ordinary toilets use gravity to flush their contents. When a flush is triggered, the water in the tank essentially just falls into the bowl, with the force of the falling water creating a siphon effect that pulls the bowl’s contents down the drainpipe.
A pressure-assisted toilet—also known as a power flush toilet—contains a sealed pressure tank that compresses trapped air. When a flush is triggered, this compressed air forces the water into the bowl, so instead of the “pulling” waste out with a siphon action, the pressure-assist unit “pushes” waste out.
Pressure-assisted toilets produce a longer drainline carry, pushing waste up to 50% further than the recommendations set by the American National Standards Institute.
This powerful flushing action is why a pressure-assisted toilet is far less likely to clog. In fact, pressure-assisted toilets are effective using as little as 1 gallon per flush (gpf) while achieving the some of the highest performance standards.
As an example, one 356-apartment complex in Baltimore reported a 57% average drop in daily water usage after renovating with pressure-assisted toilets.
If water savings and performance are a priority, installing pressure-assisted toilets is essential.
Benefits Beyond Water Savings
In addition to saving water, pressure-assisted toilets deliver several other benefits.
- Clog avoidance. Clogged toilets are an expensive, messy nuisance. Power flush toilets maximize water delivery force, so a single flush usually clears things that clog ordinary gravity toilets.
- Cleaner bowls. The extra power of each flush helps keep toilet bowls looking cleaner, so people are less likely to get a negative impression from their restroom visits.
- Easier maintenance. Pressure-assisted toilets have fewer moving parts than gravity toilets, and most of the serviceable parts are easy to replace. That makes them easier to maintain over the long haul.
If you’d like to know more, you should know that Flushmate is the preferred choice of installers and users when it comes to pressure-assisted toilets. Some of the biggest names in the toilet industry, such as Sloan®, Kohler®, Gerber®, Mansfield®, and others, rely on Flushmate technologies.
In a world where reducing water usage is becoming a vital priority, pressure-assisted toilets are an easy, efficient way to save water with every new building or renovation.
Are pressure-assisted toilets right for your next apartment complex, hotel, restaurant, or other public venue? Talk to the experts at Flushmate!